1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printer that prints by ejecting ink droplets onto a print medium.
2. Related Art
Inkjet printers that print by ejecting ink droplets from a printhead having an arrangement of plural nozzles onto printing paper or other print medium are known from the literature. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2008-87217. In order to prevent dropped dots, faint printing, and other problems caused by bubbles in the ink supply path, the inkjet printer taught in JP-A-2008-87217 has a bubble detection means that detects bubbles in the ink supply path. The bubble detection means in this inkjet printer is disposed to the joint connecting the ink supply tube and the printhead, and when the bubble detection means detects a bubble passing through the joint, ink is suctioned from the nozzles at a specified time and the bubbles are discharged from the ink supply path.
When a bubble passing the joint is detected in the inkjet printer taught in JP-A-2008-87217, ink is suctioned from the nozzles at a specified time and the ink supply path is purged of bubbles. The frequency of the ink suction operations performed to purge bubbles from the ink supply path therefore increases in this type of inkjet printer. A specific amount of ink is also consumed and wasted each time ink is suctioned to purge bubbles from the ink supply path. This means that when ink is suctioned more frequently to purge bubbles from the ink supply path as happens with the inkjet printer taught in JP-A-2008-87217, the amount of ink wastefully consumed to purge bubbles from the ink supply path increases.